Mecanimus

Changeling Part 53

They ran. The last dregs of the stimulants cocktail sloshing around Nestra’s veins kept her going at a good pace, for now. She focused on keeping one foot in front of the other.

“We have to catch up with the others,” she said. “I told them to go for the wreck.”

“It would be better if we do not try. You are slowing down, and they’ll be safer if pursuers follow our trail instead..”

Nestra could believe her. She was so tired now,...

Changeling Part 52

Fear slapped Nestra like a cold napkin. What the absolute fuck was wrong with Ilar? Why did he have to kick the hornet’s nest when Nestra was the equivalent of a jam-slathered toddler? For a moment, she fully expected the assembled Elders to pile on, or for Ilar to pull a carefully hidden Shinran out of his hat because why else? Gleams were arrogant. Enclave gleams were even more arrogant. Now Ilar had gone and pissed a whole bunch off. He and what army?

Despite Nestra’s ...

Announcement: suspended payment

EDIT: The Patreon is locked due to suspended payments until July the 26th.

Ok so I'm a bit burning out and it's mostly because whenever I take a pause, and I do take pauses, I'm just chilling for three days and then doing everything that's late. As such, I absolutely need a bigger, clean break. It will be the entire month of July.

Since I'm not comfortable asking for your support while providing nothing in return, all payments are suspended for the duration effective now...

The Calamitous Bob Chapter 207: Picking Bones

It was a nice pyre. Viv had worked together with Arthur to bring all her birth mother’s bones together, then they’d stuck dry mushroom patches under the pile though it was hardly needed with dragonfire being what it was. Fragments of broken shells completed this edifice to a youth that never was. Now, it blazed merrily in the gloom. The two of them stood there, quietly. Arthur hadn’t reacted when Viv had added the bone fragments of her brother, whom Viv had slain for attacking her. ...

Changeling Part 51

Nestra was excited. Not only was Camille a great adversary, but they were also cool as a person and now they were going to get adventures together! Not now, though, because it would be a bad time to get caught sneaking out. With the stew consumed and the leftover properly packed (and labeled), Nestra slipped out of the world while Camille simply walked through the entrance portal. The aperture was in full view of the cabin, but Camille had a great disguise: they were simply not wea...

The Calamitous Bob 206: What Now?

The horde traveled south. It wasn’t moving very quickly, but it was moving, and it never slowed down. By day or night, the dead shuffled in a great tide that climbed over hills and valleys, pouring over the land in a great plague. The horde always made for the next settlement after reaching the previous one. Fortunately, Viv had all of them evacuated in the great flight.

News traveled to Sinur’s Gate and beyond. Fortunately, though, people didn’t seem too worried. Viv�...

Changeling Part 50

The tarp at the top of the tent was kind of yellow. It was kind of old. Those tents were solid though. Or were they? She couldn’t really remember.

“Retractors.”

Nestra lifted her hand. It was kind of bloody, or rather, there was a layer of blood covering an entire side. It looked thin. Was she bleeding? Her arm didn’t hurt. Only her head.

“I think I’m bleeding.”

“That you are,” a male voice said. 

The Calamitous Bob 205: The Land of the Dead

Chapter 205: The Land of the Dead.

“Look, neither of you are going to like my answer very much.”

Viv leaned forward on her seat in the council room. To her right, the cliffs of Sinur’s Gate descended onto the vast plains leading north towards the distant capital and the outposts already seeded along the way. It was still a dead spot filled with gray and black under the perpetual gloom of rainless clouds, a grim reminder of the work left to do. It didn�...

Changeling Part 49

Fox Mask! Fox Mask had made contact. Nestra couldn’t wait. She would get to meet her again, and then they’d fight! Oh, this was going to be grand. Nestra was so looking forward to it. She unfolded the origami with a smile of barely contained excitement. 

“Tomorrow 3AM, inside the Steel Realm. Sneak in.

C.”

The note was in English, which was a nice note. Nestra wondered what the C. referred to though. According t...

The Calamitous Bob 204: Through the Waves

By the time Viv found Lana, the woman was sitting on the steps of the water palace’s inner chamber by the undersea tendril, with Rakan and Sidjin standing by her side like a pair of angry bodyguards. She was holding her hand to her chest. The warm light of life magic filtered through her knuckles. 

Despite the deep pockets under her eyes she’d still dried herself and somehow turned her hair into a simple yet clean braid. 

Viv noticed the withdra...

Changeling Part 48

Since the Elder was very deliberately ignoring Nestra, she used the opportunity to stare. It was only fair play. After all, the enclavers were doing the same to her, and without shame either. She wasn’t sure if it was because of her clothes, her ethnicity, or her dreg status. Most of the attention felt neutral in a ‘brand new BaiHua animal exhibition’ kind of way, but some of the gray robes were openly hostile. A few spat when she walked by. The fact that the elder let it happen spoke v...

Announcement: The Calamitous Bob book 6 is out!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4ZXWFLF

Link here!

Ok so as an Indie author, reviews especially, but also early sales are absolutely capital in getting the book off the ground. Any help would be truly appreciated. Thanks a lot and have a great weekend!

The Calamitous Bob 203: Second Chances

Night had fallen. Deep blue lights lit the floating city with a cold radiance that made Viv want to shiver. Outside, the perfectly smooth surface of the water was an abyss hiding another abyss, an unmoving mirror under storm clouds. Dark shapes moved at the edge of the Azure Lady’s control. The elements unleashed their furies there, while in here, they merely waited. The Azure Lady patiently drew symbols around the sleeping form of Rakan, lying naked over a stone slab. This brought back pai...

Announcement: one week delay due to travel and planning (and a little burnout).

So Bob is late. I intended to make the announcement that I was taking a short break sooner but I wanted to release the chapter first, only I'm really struggling with it. I am currently traveling in Japan with Void Herald. I also need to plan the next arcs on both Changeling and Bob, as such there will be no Bob or Changeling chapters next week. The late Bob chapter will be published soonish. It's really just the last 2k words I'm having difficulties with.

Sorry about that. There are j...

Changeling Part 47

It was perhaps for the best that Shinran had other engagements the following day, or nobody could have dragged Nestra away from the other battle maniac’s mansion. She wanted more. She was desperate for more. The missions were fun and interesting and more importantly, they were perfectly adjusted to her level. Well, maybe except for the social missions. Portal worlds were definitely more raw. Mostly, they told someone to go from point A to point B in a relatively smart way, and that was it. ...

The Calamitous Bob 202: Core of the Matter

“I could just stay in my room until it’s time to depart,” Viv told herself. “I really could.”

Really really. Nothing compelled her to do anything. The core operation was scheduled for later today, if you could call it an ‘operation’ or even a schedule. Rakan was getting ready thanks to a group of water witches who’d escaped from Halluria. All was well.

Nothing could force her into an adventure and — oh, who was she kidding? This place reeked...

Changeling Part 46

An air limo picked Nestra up near one of Threshold’s rare hotels. When she stepped in, she realized there were more levels of luxuries in life than she’d been expected. This wasn’t a fancy means of transportation designed to give corpo execs a sense of superiority for working ninety hours a week. No. Those were entirely too pedestrian. This was Shinran’s personal car. It even had custom made interior design, athmo, rare leather upholstery… The works.

“Riel, is thi...

The Calamitous Bob 201: Elemental

Viv skirted the edge of the Viziman Ocean, over white cliffs and long expanses of wind-swept grass, where herds of beasts grazed. Shepherds and patrols spotted her but none moved. The nearby Zazas was an allied city, and its javelin throwers knew her well. Soon, the cliffs abruptly dove towards the natural harbor of Zazas and its many fishing boats. Stone buildings formed a nicely ordered town in the middle of the wilderness.

“Wait, is that…”

Two famili...

Changeling part 45

No time to run. The membrane that was this portal world exploded, spilling its content where there was no space to spill them. Space bent in mind-defying geometries. Her mind reeled from the experience, but then she recovered almost immediately.

This was just space. She knew space. Well, not her mind, but her body, her instincts did. Synesthesia merged space and sight to present rivers of glass melding and splitting in a tightly packed whole. She was… not existing at the mo...

The Calamitous Bob 200: The Scars

Author’s note: This chapter is smaller because I’m a bit sick and feeling sluggish. I also need to plan the two next arcs. There are also minor retcons: I canceled the draconic intimidation master rank for consistency (I previously said she couldn’t upgrade it until she stepped up). It will delay what I’m going for but that’s fine. Rains of Zamhareer is also confirmed as Storm of Zamhareer instead since it’s visually closer to snow.

Vi...

Changeling Part 44

The fateful time had come. Nestra was summoned to attend preparatory training for the enclave mission, and the first and most important one would be survival training.

Well, summoning was perhaps pushing it. She could do some remote learning in a training center for military augs, or she could stay at home. Let’s see.

Remote training center: 

• Have to travel.

• Shit food.

• Strangers who might initiate ...

  2024-04-23 17:22:50 +0000 UTC View Post

The Calamitous Chapter 199: Speed Demon

The Red Tribe army moved east. Through valleys and plains, they progressed with slow purpose, gathering around the hulking form of the reinforced landship. Nervousness returned as the old heads among them remembered landmarks that their kind hadn’t seen in years, as well as the memories they carried. Most of those memories were tragic: retreats in the dead of the night, carrying wounded friends and brothers who would die before the day’s break, starvation, shattered hopes. As armed as the...

Changeling Part 43

Nestra reveled in the slaughter. She tore through soldier ants while they were stuck maneuvering to box her in. She knew how they fought. If the foe was fast, they would first try to position themselves better to come on from all directions. She knew it, and played with it, but they didn’t. They couldn’t learn. They lacked the reason that made fights with Fox Mask so fun. It was the second patrol now that didn’t require her to use momentum because they were just that predictable. The ne...

The Calamitous Bob 198: Kark diplomacy

The mood was subdued in the council room. The prince of Luten sat on his throne, his face a carefully composed mask of concern. It was difficult not to rejoice at the discomfited Purist faction after the complete disaster of their latest initiative. Like all things that came dearly, it had to be enjoyed for what it was. There would be no more dark blades for a generation, after all.

The fat idiots sat on their chairs as if they were ovens. He reveled in their shame. Oh, they ...

Changeling Part 42

The recruiter smelled the blood in the water. It was that pivotal instant when the fear of the unknown overwhelmed the hope for the future. The young man in front of her didn’t have perfect grades. His track record in the raider exam hadn’t been too good — half of it because of another overshining him, half of it due to bad luck. He was good but not that good, and the poor performance had sunk his confidence. 

He wasn’t prime raider material but he was good, and ...